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Cru is a non-profit, evangelical Christian organization dedicated to the Great Commission of “winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them in their faith, and sending them to win and build others” (from their website). The primary aim of Cru is to assist the body of Christ in evangelism and discipleship through various innovative approaches.
Cru was originally known as Campus Crusade for Christ International (CCCI) in the United States. In 2011, they rebranded to Cru to distance themselves from the negative associations of the historical Crusades, military campaigns by European Catholics to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims between the 11th and 13th centuries. The new name, Cru, aligns better with their expanded focus beyond college campuses.
Established in 1951 by Bill and Vonette Bright as a ministry for university students at UCLA in California, Cru aims to develop strategies and structures so that everyone globally knows at least one person who genuinely follows Jesus. Over the past few decades, Cru has broadened its outreach to include adult professionals, athletes, and high school students, in addition to college students. Cru operates 2,400 campus ministries, collaborates with over 2,000 local churches to aid the homeless, and conducts athletic outreaches in 85 countries.
Cru is also responsible for The Jesus Film Project, a worldwide media initiative launched in 1979. The Jesus Film is a feature film based on the Gospel of Luke, shot at 202 locations in Israel with a cast of over 5,000. This film holds the record as the most translated motion picture in history—available in over 1,400 languages—and has been screened in nearly every country. To date, The Jesus Film Project has reached 6.5 billion people with the gospel, leading to 230 million decisions for Christ.
According to
Cru.org, “The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God’s infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was uniquely, verbally, and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.” [Source: Cru’s Statement of Faith]
Cru’s world headquarters is in Orlando, Florida. The organization publishes several books, booklets, digital media, and other materials for ministry use and has developed apps to assist the average person in spreading the gospel through social media. The Four Spiritual Laws, a booklet by Cru founder Bill Bright, has been distributed over one hundred million times since 1952. Learn more about Cru at Cru.org.
